The Doctor's Secret

The latest series finale of Doctor Who, "The Name of the Doctor" didn't have much in the way of a plot, or structure, nor did it make any sense whatsoever, but it did have John Hurt, one of my favorite actors showing up as 'The Doctor', or at least as A Doctor, one who did something 'not in the name of the Doctor'.

Now, we have to wait until November and the 50th Anniversary special to find out what that something is/was/will be, but I think I have an idea ....

The whole shebang!

Netsuke Art

http://io9.com/spirit-foxes-and-raunchy-demons-in-japanese-netsuke-ar-505023670

Spoiler Alert

Finding out who Benedict Cumberbatch is playing in the newest Star Trek movie was like finding out that the people on Lost were in purgatory. Really, this is the best you could come up with?

If it is just going to be a rerun with lens flair, I would rather watch this over and over again for two hours. 

The Joys of Discovery

One of the real joys of Geekdom is discovering those rare TV shows, movies and books that may have totally passed me in those barbaric days before the interwebs. Here are three that aren't new, but are new to me and that I heartily recommend.

TV SHOW: The Middle Man
A down on her luck artist stumbles onto a secret organisation dedicated to saving the world from aliens, evil scientist and occult monsters. You know, like Men in Black, but funny.

MOVIE: Cyber Ninja
Samurai and ninjas and space ships .... you need more of an explanation?

BOOK: The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold
Honor Harrington meets the Hitchhiker's Guide.

I Like My Star Wars a Little Old Skool

66 behind the scenes photos from The Empire Strikes Back. 

My Cancer Dog

My Cancer Dog, from my other blog.

Mantis Shrimp!

To learn more about the Mantis Shrimp ... go Here!

Crazy Catwoman Lady

Source

Fantasy Maps

io9 has a collection of some utterly stunning fantasy maps. The one that caught my eye was the lands of the Phantom Tollbooth. I caught the last 30mins of the Chuck Jones film on TCM the other day. Instantly I was ten years old again, back when I absolutely loved the book.

Now I need to want to track down a copy to give it a read. 

This is what Roleplaying IS.

The always indomitable, Penny Arcade

Or at least, what it SHOULD be.

I've been link-dumping lately. I hate it and I apologize. This is not why I set this up. Work's been busy, and their have been doctors and tests all month (one year chemo free this month ... wOOt!). By the time I get home and take the dogs on their two hour walk (otherwise they aren't tired enough to sleep through the night), I don't have a lot of energy left.

To me, this comic beautifully illustrates the pure, distilled heart of tabletop roleplaying and like Gabe, I would be completely invested in a game like this.  You don't need Game of Throne level plotting, you don't even need good rules ... all you need is enthusiasm.

How else could we have played our way through almost twenty years of RIFTS? The rules were TERRIBLE, but the setting was awesome in its XTREME 90s kinda way and we just played; going through, around or flat out ignoring the rules. We didn't care about game balance, or game theory, rules fatigue, genre poisoning, crossover appeal or whether the plot was railroad, sandbox or even made sense. We cared about  spending time with friends and having a good time.

WATCH OUT! SKELETONS!